


i’ll be the stone that you need me to be

by iwasafrozenlake



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Abuse, F/F, Hallucinations, Overnight, Past, Sad, Season 1, Suicide, Sweetwater River (Riverdale), just go with it, some original characters - Freeform, sorry about this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-07
Updated: 2019-04-07
Packaged: 2020-01-06 13:16:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18389192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iwasafrozenlake/pseuds/iwasafrozenlake
Summary: She feels numb inside. Like the universe said “Toni Topaz may never  feel happiness.”And honestly, she doesn’t blame the universe.She really wants to go home. Wandering around the Northside, where her kind aren’t necessarily welcome, at night isn’t exactly a great idea.





	i’ll be the stone that you need me to be

9:37 pm

“Shit.”

The trailer door refuses to budge no matter how hard Toni pulls on the doorknob. This is the fourth time just this week she’s been locked out of her own home, honestly she’s nearly forgotten the feel of her own bed.

It’s not like she wants to be in there, with the smell of alcohol filling every corner of the house and living in constant high alert of any given object in arms reach of her uncle being thrown at her head at any moment. 

But it would be nice to have a bed to sleep in.

“Please unlock the door, it’s nearly below zero.” She knocks, just gently enough to not piss him off, but loud enough for him to hear. She feels a gust of wind run through the night and tries to keep warm in her hoodie she borrowed from a friend and has never got to returning it.

Seconds pass and she looks in the window just to see the lamp click off and she is now staring into nothing but darkness.

“Fuck!” She bangs her hand against the cold metal keeping her house together and is just waiting for the day it falls apart. She can feel the tears forming in her eyes. Why is she crying? It’s not like this is a new thing, but it’s the thing of not having a home or anyone who really cares. Her parents didn’t care enough to stick around for her. Her uncle could care less about her. Sweet Pea could care less about her, he’s proven that over the last few weeks as he’s only acknowledged her existence when he needs a quick one. There is nothing and no one.

—

She doesn’t know how long she’s walking or even where she was exactly going. All she knows is she somehow ended up on the Northside of Riverdale, with the buildings that aren’t covered with paint chips and moss. 

Some businesses have their lights off and some are clearly still open, with people walking in and out of them. It’s times like this she’s glad she’s not in her Serpent jacket as she would most likely be in the back of a police car the second she crossed the Northside and Southside border. 

She feels numb inside. Like the universe said “Toni Topaz may never feel happiness.” 

And honestly, she doesn’t blame the universe. 

She really wants to go home. Wandering around the Northside, where her kind aren’t necessarily welcome, at night isn’t exactly a great idea. 

But where is home?

There isn’t a home. There’s just a life.

But there is a bus stop and a bus stop has a bench. 

As she plants herself on the bench, underneath her she hears a soft crinkle of paper and pulls it out from under her. 

The font on the front page is a little faded, but just clear enough for her to read it. 

—

SWEETWATER TRAGEDIES  
Julia Carter

RIVERDALE-- Penelope Blossom curls up on her couch in the living room of Thornhill, blinds shut blocking out any light from entering the premises as she clutches a white stuffed teddy bear, rubbing her hand over its soft head. 

It was her daughters.

She remembers her deceased son Jason Blossom purchasing the bear for her daughter, Cheryl Blossom’s, 8th birthday. Since that night, the stuffed bear would be a constant companion for her. She kept it in the corner of her bedroom even after she decided she was too old to take a stuffed animal to bed. 

It’s been Penelope’s only companion for the last two weeks ever since Cheryl, 16, took her own life.

“It makes me feel close to them both.” she said. 

On November 16th, in the middle of the afternoon, Cheryl fell through the icy depths of Sweetwater River, only to be found, only 22 hours later by classmate Veronica Lodge.

Veronica seems to be the last communication Cheryl had before making her way to Sweetwater River. 

A couple months before, Jason Blossom’s body was found in Sweetwater River with a bullet through his head and days before, her father, Clifford Blossom took his own life in the barn on the Blossom property.

“NOTHING FEELS RIGHT.”

“It’s hard, mommy. Pretending everything’s okay. When nothing feels right. Everything is falling apart” Cheryl broke down to Penelope one late night in October.

Outwardly, you would never guess Cheryl was depressed. The five-foot-six-inch teenager with bright red hair and a welcoming smile was actively involved in Riverdale High School’s cheerleading squad as captain. She was a overachieving student with a loving group of friends. She loved to participate in the school musicals and even dabbled in art. She was social and had a very loving relationship with her parents and her brother Jason. 

“She was a loved child,” Penelope states. “She had such an active imagination and everyone loved her for it.”

While she seemed happy, Penelope did raise concerns in Cheryl’s behavior since the loss of Jason and her father. 

“Jason’s death took a toll on all of us. He was a son, a brother, a boyfriend, a cousin. He had a future for himself in the family business. Clifford lost his son. I think that was the final straw for him.”

On the final days of Cheryl’s life, classmate Veronica Lodge noticed a change in Cheryl’s demeanor, describing her as “withdrawn and closed off” There was a day she heard her crying in the locker room after cheerleading practice. 

One day before the tragedy at Sweetwater River, Cheryl suddenly quit the cheerleading squad and gave the place as captain to fellow squad member Veronica. After confronting Cheryl about her actions these past few days, Cheryl simply ended the discussion with a “I’m fine.” 

“YOU’RE NOT ALONE.” 

On the final day of Cheryl’s life, right after the school bell rang, Cheryl’s depression became an immediate crisis.

“Thanks for trying. I’m going to be with Jason now.” Cheryl’s last message to Veronica read moments before her death. 

“I would’ve read that message earlier but my phone died and I never got the message until I woke up the next morning.” 

Veronica called 911 immediately and emergency responders arrived moments later. 

“We searched for hours but there was no sign of her.” 

Veronica Lodge and classmate Archie Andrews turned Riverdale upside down to find their friend but to no avail. 

Veronica sent a final message to Cheryl’s cell phone, reading “You’re not alone. Cheryl, please. Just come to the police station and we’ll figure this out together, okay?”

But she never came. 

At 11:30, Veronica asked Archie to go and pick up some lunch from a local diner. Shortly after 12 p.m, the body of Cheryl Blossom would be found by the rivers edge, a solid 7 feet from where Jason Blossom’s body was discovered by two unnamed students just a couple months earlier. 

According to autopsy results, Cheryl died shortly after 4 p.m on the evening of November 16th, less than an hour after her last message to Veronica. 

“THIS TOWN IS CURSED”

After the death of beloved member of society, Jason Blossom, the Blossoms tried to return to their sense of normalcy, with the family business running smoothly and Cheryl’s studies moving along, the town of Riverdale slowly started to return as well. But the family never really moved on. 

In fact, everything was far from normal. It was only a matter of time before the town had more blood on its hands. 

Nothing was ever the same when Clifford Blossom was found by his beloved wife and only living child hanging from a rope.

“This town is cursed. My family is cursed. That river is cursed. That river took my family away from me. All of this is because of that river.” Penelope cries. 

What is Riverdale? It’s not the river. It never was. It’s people. You and me. Our friends. Our neighbors. Riverdale is defined by Jason Blossom. A boy with a future, but because of gang activity, never got to live out that future. Nathan Myers is Riverdale. The boy who brought the murder to justice and because of Nathan, is now spending his life behind bars. Clifford Blossom is Riverdale. A man mourning his beloved son but is finally reunited with him and spending a forever with him. But you know who is Riverdale? Charlie Park. A man we were so quick to blame for the murder of Jason Blossom. But Penelope Blossom is Riverdale, the very soul of Riverdale. A soul with so much loss in her life, it becomes a tragedy to watch a mother, a wife, go through so much pain and suffering with no one beside her.  
Everyone needs someone.  
The secrets that lie underneath the human soul need to all come to light or what happened to Jason, Clifford or Cheryl may happen again, or something even worse. Riverdale must do better. We must do better. And we can. We just have to be believers.

**Author's Note:**

> idk where this idea came from also i would like to apologize in advance. also just pretend the core four never saved cheryl and the jubilee never happened besides that everything else is canon in season 1.


End file.
